Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Possibly an early ecclesiastical site, identified by J. O'Donovan in 1837 as Cill Beo Aid (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 1, 41), and situated on a slight E-facing slope. The church as marked on the OS 6-inch map is a rectangular structure (int. dims. 6.8m E-W; 3.4m N-S) defined by a stone spread with one large stone (L 1.1m; H 0.4m) on the inner face of the E wall but the W wall is missing. It may be a house site but it is inside the perimeter of an ecclesiastical enclosure (RO015-047003-) at SE and is marked as an RC church on the 1837 ed. Of the OS 6-inch map.
The enclosure is a subcircular grass-covered area (int. dims. 96m N-S; 83m E-W) defined by a grass-covered stone spread (Wth 4-5m; int. H 0.3-0.6m; ext. H 0.1m at W to 1m at E) which is truncated by an E-W stone wall and townland boundary at N (L 40m) but nothing survives N of this in Ballynahowna. The enclosure is bisected by a N-S relict field boundary represented by a grass-covered stone spread (Wth 2.7-3m; H 0.3-0.4m). This is part of a later field system (RO015-047007-) which extends beyond the enclosure but includes two small fields (int. dims. 25m x 31m: 15m x 8m) within it.
In addition there are two house sites associated with the fields within the enclosure. At the centre of the enclosure is a grass-covered area (RO015-047004-) (ext. dims. 8.8m E-W; c. 8m N-S) defined by low scarps, with a small quarry S of it. Attached to the W of the central field boundary is a house (RO015-047005-) (int. dims. 8.8m N-S; 4m E-W) defined by low banks or scarps. Just to the W of this is a childrens burial ground (RO015-047002-), consisting of a small rectangular stone-lined grave (int. dims. 1.2m N-S; 0.8m E-W) with other stones extending from it to the W. A small Latin cross (RO015-047006-) (H 0.32m; Wth 0.25m) is associated with it. (Martin 1992, 19)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1931 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Roscommon collected during the progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1837. Bray.

Martin, E. 1992 Bellanagare. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society, vol. 4, 18-19.